Kevin, I've actually used small amounts of carafa I on one I've brewed, as well as light bits of special B for some darker fruit flavors/aromas. This being an outlier and not the norm of course.
Usually one would use malts in the 30-50 lovibond or below, however for me i find they're best if done with just a solid base malt and very light additions of crystal in the 20-40 range. But "sweetness" can be altered so many ways. I've got a beer i mash at 160F that comes out with a lot of residual sweetness even with minimal additions of low kilned specialties. it could be he used a yeast that only attenuated out partially. White labs ESB yeast (1968? i think??) only attenuates around 65-70%, subbing a yeast with a higher attenuation could change the beer drastically as well in this case. I think even the WLP002 only attenuates to 65% as well?
Knowing the recipe, and method, is the only way to make any significant alterations. Even better would be understanding how all of these aspects work together to make the beer you want. Personally I love suggesting grabbing some books, or listening to some podcasts to learn how each ingredient and aspect of brewing effects the resulting beer.
I'd love to know more about the beer that was brewed so that I can help the brewer learn what needs to change; more importantly to learn WHY those things need to change, as thats the only way to improve upon the brewers abilities. Anyone can follow a recipe, but only those with this kind of knowledge can create a recipe that ends how they want. Understanding what 1.014 means as far as "sweetness" goes is a major aspect, and it doesn't seem as though KW even knows if his beer finished at 1.014? perhaps his OG was high? perhaps his FG was high? perhaps the beer didn't finish all the way?
I've been brewing for 10-15 years or so, and I'm still learning constantly, I would much rather someone explained to me WHY my beer didn't finish how i expected it to, than to just tell me what i should do differently.
As far as brewing "traditional ales" and brewing beers to style, I really enjoyed the book "The Secrets of Master Brewers" as it discusses the styles brewed, provides insight as to why they brew the way they do, and then provides recipes for someone to try.
Personally, I'd change the whole mash of what he described. Using predominately Maris Otter, Vienna, or even some Munich as a base (if i can reach the diastatic power to convert), with light additions of biscuit malt, Invert sugar as desired. But i've tried to shy away from generic pale malts as much as possible.